My Hero
The Lemonheads Lyrics

Zero
The number zero

Yeah, Zero is a wonderful thing
Zero is an amazing and valuable number

In fact, Zero is my hero!
The singer considers zero to be a hero

Well, there are all kinds of heroes, you know
There are different types of heroes

A man can get to be a hero
A person can become a hero by doing something extraordinary

For a famous battle he fought
One way to become a hero is by winning a notable fight or battle

Or by studying very hard
Another way to be a hero is by excelling academically

And becoming a weightless astronaut
Becoming an astronaut and floating in space is also a heroic act

And then there are heroes of other sorts
There are various other types of heroes

Like the heroes, you know, from watching sports
People who excel in sports can also be heroes

But a hero doesn't have to be a grown up person, you know
A hero doesn't have to be an adult

A hero can be a very big dog
Even an animal can be a hero by saving someone

Who comes to your rescue
A hero is someone who comes to your aid when you need help

Or a very little boy who's smart enough to know what to do
Even a small child can be a hero if they are smart and help others

But let me tell you about my favorite hero
The singer is about to introduce their personal favorite hero

My hero, Zero, such a funny little hero
The hero the artist admires is the number zero

But 'til you came along
Before zero was established, people had to use other methods to count

We counted on our fingers and toes
People used to count using their digits

Now you're here to stay
With the inclusion of zero, counting became easier and more convenient

And nobody really knows
It's unclear why someone invented the number zero

How wonderful you are
Despite this, the artist praises zero for its usefulness

Why we could never reach a star
Without zero, it would be impossible to reach large numbers

Without you, Zero, my hero
The singer is expressing gratitude to zero for making counting easier

It's nothing, isn't it?
Some people may think zero is insignificant because it represents nothing on its own

Sure, it represents nothing alone
Zero by itself has no value, but it's essential when combined with other digits

But place a zero after 1
When you add zero to one, the number becomes ten

And you've got yourself a 10
Adding one zero to a number increases its value by ten

See how important that is?
This shows how valuable zero is in changing the value of a number

When you run out of digits
When you reach the end of the digits you're using to count

You can start all over again
You can start counting from the beginning by adding another zero to the end

See how convenient that is?
This illustrates how useful zero is in providing an endless supply of numbers

That's why with only ten digits including zero
You can count up to whatever number you want using only ten digits

You can count as high as you could ever go
Using zero, you can count towards infinity

Forever, towards infinity
You can keep counting forever with zero

No one ever gets there, but you could try
While infinity is unreachable, zero allows us to keep trying to count towards it

10 billion zeros
A large quantity of zeros

From the cavemen to the weirdos
Throughout history, people have used zero to count

Who invented you
It's unclear who was the first to use zero as a number

They counted on their fingers and toes
People used to count using their digits before zero was established

Or maybe some sticks and stones, rocks and bones
People might have used other objects to count besides their digits

Their neighbors' toes
In some cultures, people would also use their neighbors' digits to count

And nobody really knows
It's unclear how exactly people began using zero

Place one zero after any number
Adding a single zero to a number increases its value by ten

And you've multiplied that number by 10
Multiplying a number by ten is the same as adding one zero to the end

See how easy that is
This illustrates how convenient zero is in multiplication

Place two zeros after any number
Adding two zeros to a number increases its value by one hundred

And you've multiplied that number by 100
Multiplying a number by 100 is the same as adding two zeros to the end

See how simple that is
This demonstrates how straightforward zero is in multiplication

Place three zeros after any number
Adding three zeros to a number increases its value by one thousand

And you've multiplied that number by 1, 000
Multiplying a number by 1000 is the same as adding three zeros to the end

Et cetera, et cetera, ad infinitum, ad astra, forever and ever
And so on, towards infinity and the stars, for eternity

With zero, my hero, how wonderful you are
The artist concludes by praising the usefulness of zero